The only indicator it was ever a cinema are its steeped motifs and the fading letters RIALT above the boarded windows and “SOLD” sign advertising its potential to investors. The “O” not being replaced is the final indignity for such a once-proud building. Even now, in its state of ruin, it looks utterly alien amidst a row of terraced redbrick houses, takeaways and phone repair shops. What must it have looked like when it opened on the 5th of November 1936 to great fanfare and the billing of “Dublin’s Suburban Super Cinema”?
Shout Shout! Let It All Out!
A woman kneels on a bed, as onlookers observe. Her face is twisted, she emits a guttural bellowing, grunts, thumps herself and spouts expletive-riddled abuse. Primal Screaming doesn’t look like much of a buzz but Caitriona Devery decided to take a plunge into the strange anyway.
Connemara Cinema.
Bob Quinn is a filmmaker based in Connemara whose 1975 film Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire tells the story of a film shoot in a Gaeltacht where the actors rebel against their director. The original suggestion and support for making the film came from Eamonn Smullen, who was Director of Education, Sinn Féin The Workers Party.
Upon release, it was greeted as “the first completely native-produced movie that seems capable of holding its own with the best of the world’s new cinema.”.
After a long period during which the negative was feared lost, it was recovered and restored in 2010. Rabble caught up with Bob Quinn to talk about it.
The Social Fabric.
The banners represent key moments of change in history, from the evolution of the Women’s Workers Union in 1911 to recent responses to Brexit. They portray changing issues throughout Ireland and the UK including our present moments of Repeal the Eighth and wars in regions such as Palestine.
Bye George!
Above: Illustartion by Mice. That’s next year’s totally inappropriate Halloween mask sorted so. George Hook is a long time Blueshirt supporter who made a good living from greasing the gears of the establishment and the fine craft of being a reactionary wind up merchant on prime time radio. We drafted in Paul Dillon to look at how the Hookie monster eventually fell from grace and the far bigger picture of … Read More
Open Ear Fodder.
Open Ear came onto the scene back in 2016 as the escape of choice for Ireland’s experimental electronica underground. Lush weather and sweet vibes ensued to guarantee it dominated conversations before and after. They’ve started firing up recordings from the festival on their site. One of Wickla’s best kept intersections between man and musical machines, Automatic Tasty played last year and this live recording is one of the first to … Read More
Left In the Cold.
Last year playwright Alan O’Brien won the PJ O’Connor Award for Best New Radio Drama with Snow Falls and So Do We. rabble sent Sean Finnan along to chat to Alan about the play and why he refused RTÉ permission to broadcast the drama. So I guess to start with, what’s the play about? It was inspired by the death of Rachel Peavoy. When that happened I was amongst many … Read More
The Rhymes Of History.
I don’t really know enough about the contemporary aspirations of planning culture now to comment. But if you look at Milton Keynes in the UK as a prime example of 60’s utopianism, its history is hilarious. I got given a tour about 10 years ago, when I was looking to do a project there. Its original planners were entrenched in new-age ideology. They even sited its main artery, Midsummer Boulevard, on the axis of the summer solstice sunrise.
The Baubles Family Punxmas.
There’s too much to do. Auntie Mary is doing me head in. All the shopping is inciting anxiety. There’s no tree up and the decorations are still in the attic. There’s too many christmas songs. Christ, there’s just too much christmas… The bahumbuggery always gives way in the end though. Generally thanks to good company, some time to put the feet up, or delicious pints. You succumb to … Read More
This Land Is…
Radicalism and reinvention are two prevalent themes running through programming for A Fair Land. Cultural and artistic activism were predominant in the creation of the political movement for 1916 and it was this gathering of energy, ambition, ideology and activism which A Fair Land sought to emulate, orientating the project towards a future vision moving forward in 2016.